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'Mark Gamsa not only examines the Sino-Russian cultural encounter more closely than anyone heretofore has done, but also reflects on it perceptively from the viewpoint of a new century. While the implications of undervaluing the individual usually appear in the context of collectivization, industrialization, and other Communist Party-led socioeconomic transformations, Gamsa calls attention to their importance in literature and art. His discussion leads on to interesting reflections on what literature is, whether it really can change society and history, and in what, if any, sense it can teach and guide readers. Reading, he thinks, is a one-on-one experience in which an individual writer speaks to an individual reader, often across distances of time and space, and even long after the writer's death. Literature is written by individuals for individuals. Its impact occurs in one mind at a time and is not a mass phenomenon.'-China Review International

<p>&#8220;This is a fascinating exploration of inter-cultural history and there is nothing like it in the English-language scholarship. In this regard, The Reading of Russian Literature in China is both timely and long overdue. Gamsa&#8217;s ability to interweave discussions of Chinese, Russian, and Soviet exchanges in the midst of revolution and war is masterful. It is a work of extensive research and rich detail&#8212;a significant project. The book will be welcome to scholars and graduate students of Chinese studies, inter-cultural history of Russia and China, comparative literature generally, and Communist literature specifically.&#8221; Douglas Howland, David D. Buck Professor of Chinese History, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

'Mark Gamsa not only examines the Sino-Russian cultural encounter more closely than anyone heretofore has done, but also reflects on it perceptively from the viewpoint of a new century. While the implications of undervaluing the individual usually appear in the context of collectivization, industrialization, and other Communist Party-led socioeconomic transformations, Gamsa calls attention to their importance in literature and art. His discussion leads on to interesting reflections on what literature is, whether it really can change society and history, and in what, if any, sense it can teach and guide readers. Reading, he thinks, is a one-on-one experience in which an individual writer speaks to an individual reader, often across distances of time and space, and even long after the writer's death. Literature is written by individuals for individuals. Its impact occurs in one mind at a time and is not a mass phenomenon.'-China Review International '...not only does the book shed new light on the study of modern Chinese literature in a comparative paradigm, but it also makes a unique and much-needed contribution towards a better understanding of Chinese intellectual history, Sino-Soviet relations, and intercultural exchanges at the state and personal levels.' - Yan Li, Northeastern University, Modern Language Review

<p> This is a fascinating exploration of inter-cultural history and there is nothing like it in the English-language scholarship. In this regard, The Reading of Russian Literature in China is both timely and long overdue. Gamsa's ability to interweave discussions of Chinese, Russian, and Soviet exchanges in the midst of revolution and war is masterful. It is a work of extensive research and rich detail--a significant project. The book will be welcome to scholars and graduate students of Chinese studies, inter-cultural history of Russia and China, comparative literature generally, and Communist literature specifically. Douglas Howland, David D. Buck Professor of Chinese History, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

Author Information

MARK GAMSA is a Lecturer in modern Chinese history and literature at Tel Aviv University, Israel.

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